Compression sponge mop



March 1, 1960 J. G. KNAPP COMPRESSION SPONGE MOP I N V EN TORI @fl a wi Filed July 25, 1955 IF! L ATTORNEYS.

COMPRESSION SPONGE MOP James G. Knapp, Wheaton, lll., assignor to American- Marietta Company, Chicago, lll., a corporation of Illinois Application July 25, 1955, Serial No. 524,220

5 Claims. (Cl. 15-119) This invention relates to a compression sponge mop, or the like, and the invention is particularly useful in connection with an elongated type of sponge which is bent upon itself for squeezing liquid from the mop.

One of the major problems with a sponge type mop which is compressed through manual manipulation of presser elements, is the weight and number of the operating parts, etc. If it were possible to provide an effective squeezing mechanism for a mop while using only a few light parts and while at the same time providing the necessary rigidityor firmnessfor supporting the sponge element, an important advance would be made in the compression sponge field.

An object of the present invention is to provide a compression sponge structure satisfying the above desired end while at the same time enabling the squeezing operation to be accomplished by a very short movement of the operating elements. A further object is to provide a compression sponge mop in which a draw element of light construction and housed within a tubular handle is effectively employed for the manipulation of sponge squeezing mechanism. A still further object is to provide in such a mop structure means for drawing a sponge squeezing structure while directing upon thefolded'sponge portions a relatively uniform pressure for the quick elimination of the contained liquid. A still further object is to provide an extremely lightweight simple mop structure in which an elongated mop body is firmly supported for the mopping operation but in which a quick freeing of the moisture is brought about through the manipulation of a draw element, etc. Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is shown, in an illustrative embodiment, by the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a broken perspective view of a compression sponge mop embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a broken vertical section, on an enlarged scale; and Fig. 3, a transverse sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

In the illustration given, designates a mop handle, which is preferably formed in two or more parts and which has a lower tubular portion provided at its bottom with a guide disk 11. The disk 11 is provided with a central opening 12. The handle is provided at an intermediate point diametrically opposite with slots designated by the numeral 13, and enclosing the handle portion in which the slots lie is a slide handle 14 provided with a transverse pin 15, the ends of which extend through the slots 13.

Secured rigidly to the lower end of the handle 10 is a fork member 16 which is pivotally connected at its lower ends by pivot pins 17 to the toggle links 18. The links 18 preferably have lower diverging leg portions 19 which are secured by pins 20 to presser plates 21. The presser plates 21 have side flanges 22 through which the pins 20 extend for pivotally connecting the link portions 19 to the presser plates.

The presser plates 21 are spaced apart and rest upon an elongated sponge body 23. The sponge body may consist nit-ed States atent of a cellulose sponge, cellular rubber material, or any other suitable absorbent material useful in a mopping operation. The sponge body 23 is covered with a canvas or fabric cover 24 which is adhesively secured to the top of the sponge 23, and below the fabric 24' are metal plates (not shown) equipped with threaded studs 25- which extend through the fabric 24 and the presser plates 21 and are anchored thereon bywing nuts 26. Since such sponge structure and attaching means are well known, a detailed description herein is believed unnecessary.

The presser plates 21 are pivotally connected at their inner ends to a head plate 27. The head plate 27 is provided with side flanges 28, which in turn are provided with spaced horizontal slots 29. Pivot pins 30 extend through holes in the raised flanges 22 of the presser plates and engage the slots 29 of the plate 27. The pins 30 and the slots 29 provide lost-motion connections between the presser plates and the head plate and permit the presser plates to move laterally, as illustrated in Fig. 2, during the compression operation.

A draw element, which in the illustration given consists of a rod 31, is fixed to the head plate 27 at its lower end by extending a lower reduced portion of the rod through an opening in the plate 27 and riveting the end thereof against the plate, and the upper end of the rod 31 is provided with a loop portion 32 receiving the pin 15.

It is desired to have'a spring device restore the presser plates to their aligned or horizontal position immediately after the squeezing operation, and such spring may be located in a variety of places to bring about this action. In the specific arrangement shown, I provide a blade spring 33 having a fiat portion resting upon the top of each presser plate 21 and then extending below the transverse pin 20 and upwardly along the front face of the toggle link 18. When the presser plates are bent inwardly, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the spring members 33 are placed under high compression, and thereafter when the slide handle 14 is released, the spring elements quickly restore the presser plates to their original horizontal position as shown in Fig. 1.

Operation In the operation of the mop structure, the presser plates are normally held in their extended or horizontal positions by the spring members 33 and the user of the mop may press the elongated sponge body forwardly and backwardly as in the usual mopping operation, such operation resulting in the accumulation of water or other liquid within the sponge body 23. When it is desired to squeeze the sponge to remove the water, the user of the mop, holding the mop handle 10 in one position, draws the slide handle 14 rearwardly and by this action draws the head plate 27 to the position illustrated in Fig. 2. In the compression operation, the pivot pins 30 move from their inner positions, as shown in Fig. l, to their outer positions within the slots 29, as shown in Fig. 2, the pivot pins moving separately and in response to the pressure required for the squeezing of the mop, and in such operation a uniform pressure is exerted upon the mop body for wringing the moisture therefrom. In the operation of the draw element 31, the element is kept centered within the guide disk 11 so that the mop head 27 remains in true alignment with the handle and between the diverging arms of the fork 16, while at the same time the toggle links 18 swing, during the compression operation, from their outer vertical position to their inwardly-inclined positions for squeezing the sponge body 23 throughout its length. The flat lower surface of the head plate 27 provides a rigid abutment engaging the central portion of the sponge, whereby pressure is applied to this portion of the sponge for wringing the moisture therefrom.

Upon release of the handle 14, following the squeezing of the mop body, the springs 33 move the presserplates 21 and the toggle links 18 back to the position shown in Fig. 1 so that mopping may be resumed.

While, in the, foregoingspecification, I have set, forth a specific structure in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating an embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that the details of structure so shown may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my inventiom,

I claim:

1. A compression sponge mop, comprising a mop handle having a fork at the lower end thereof, a slide handle on said mop handle, an elongated sponge, presser plates secured to said sponge for compressing the same between them during wringing, pivotally-mounted links connecting said plates and the ends of said fork, a head plate pivotally connecting said presser plates through lost-motion connections, each of said presser plates being rotatable about its respective lost motion connection, and a draw element connecting said slide handle to said head plate, said lost motion connections permitting lateral shifting of the inner ends of said presser plates away from one another when said slide handle is moved to press thepresser plates about the sponge to fold it upon itself, saidlateral shifting of the inner ends of the presser plates being in addition to any lateral component of movementof said ends. caused by rotation of said plates about their respective lost motion connections, each of said lost motion-connections serving at least during the latter part of the wringing operation as the fulcrum against which its associated presser plate bears to apply wringing pressure to the sponge compressed between said plates.

2. The structure of claim 1, in which said head plate and presser plates have cooperating pin-and-slot connections permitting said lateral movement of the plates.

3. The structure of claim 1, in which the mop handle is provided at its lower end with a guide disk having a central aperture receiving the guide element.

4. A compression sponge mop, comprising a mop handle having a tubular lower portion, a fork member secured to the tubular lower portion of the handle and having downwardly and laterally-extending arms, a slide handle mounted on said mop handle and provided with a transverse pin engaging an elongated slot within said mop handle, a rod secured to said pin and extending downwardly through said tubular handle portion, said handle having a closed end provided centrally with a guide opening receiving said rod, a plate fixed to said rod, presser plates connected to said plate by pin-and-slot connections, each of said presser plates being rotatable about its respective pin-and-slot connection, an elongated sponge secured to said plates so as to be compressed between them during wringing, and links pivotally connecting said fork arms to said presser plates, said pin-and-slot connections permitting lateral shifting of the inner ends of said presser plates away from one another when the presser plates press the sponge upon itself during the wringing operation, said lateral movement of the inner ends of the presser plates being in addition to any lateral component of movement of said ends caused by rotation of said plates about their respective pin-and-slot connections, each of said pinand-slot connections serving at least during the latter part of the wringing operation, as thefulcrum against which its associated presser plate bears to apply wringing pressure to the sponge compressed between said plates.

5. The structure of claim 4, in which spring means is provided for urging said presser plates to a longitudinallyaligned position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 603,999 Ballam May 10, 1898 1,171,768 Browning Feb. 15, 1916 2,685,098 Palma et al Aug. 3, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,504 Great Britain of 1912 53,091 Denmark May 3, 1937 76,184 Norway Jan. 30, 1950 466,474 Canada July 11, 1950 617,197 Germany Aug. 14, 1935 1,095,939 France Dec. 29, 1954 

